Photo journalism vs. Paparazzi wannabe

There seems to be a craze sweeping the country where it has now become 'acceptable' for photos to be taken of the general public and uploaded on social media sites, without their knowledge or consent. Arguably this does not breach any privacy law, but does that make it ok? Is there anyone else that agrees taking pictures of people in public places, just going about their daily lives, without their consent is just morally wrong? How is this newsworthy? The photos are often distorted or of poor quality and are usually captioned with a comment of ridicule. I can't help feeling as a journalist this is such unethical practice and somewhat creepy. It's not art, it's not even clever, it's just plain weird!